


Those Who Spy in the Dark

by Umbr_el_on



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22351735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Umbr_el_on/pseuds/Umbr_el_on
Summary: During their days at Garreg Mach, Sylvain and Hilda make a habit of collecting news and gossip about their classmates. It's all fun and games until they learn more than they bargained for, making the outbreak of the war weigh heavier than they can bear. Making up for past mistakes, Sylvain and Hilda offer their services as spies to the joined forces of the Kingdom and Alliance. Through their service, they learn more about the world around them than they ever expected, leaving them changed forever.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sylvain Jose Gautier & Hilda Valentine Goneril
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Those Who Spy in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Natendo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natendo/gifts).



> Background ships in the order of their appearance are: Dorogrid, Sylvix, Marihilda, Dimiclaude, Ferdibert.

Sylvain is getting ready to leave the emptying dining hall when he feels the wood of the bench creak next to him. The smell of flowers tells him who it is before he turns, finding Hilda scribbling furiously into a familiar notebook. Wiping his hands and mouth with a napkin, Sylvain settles back into his seat and rests his chin in one hand, looking at Hilda.

“Whatever you’re writing must be interesting to have you working so hard jotting it down,” Sylvain teases, watching the pen scratch across the page with surprising speed.

Hilda scoffs but continues writing and whispers to Sylvain. “It is. I just heard Dorothea and Ingrid giggling behind a bush in the courtyard, so I investigated.”

Sylvain shrugs, disengaging now that he’s deemed the new information less than thrilling. “So? They’re close and spend a lot of time together. Giggling comes with that, if you didn’t know.”

At that, Hilda pauses and looks over at Sylvain after glancing around. He feels something in her gaze that tells him to pay attention, and then she blows him a kiss. He sits dumbfounded for a few seconds, trying to piece together what she means. When it clicks, his eyebrows shoot up and he leans over, trying to read what Hilda has written.

“Get off of me!” She groans, shoving uselessly at Sylvain’s stubborn body.

“No way…” Sylvain mutters, reading Hilda’s notes.

Dorothea and Ingrid were kissing in the courtyard. Hilda wrote that she suspected they were doing it when they were because everyone was supposed to be at lunch. She only saw them because she was running late. She left before they noticed her there, but she had seen and heard enough to piece together the new development.

“Are you going to take your turn add something, or just stare at all my hard work?” Hilda punctuates the question by pushing the notebook into Sylvain’s hands, and he hisses when it gives him a paper cut.

“Ow! Of course I’ll take my turn, who do you take me for?” Sylvain moves startlingly fast from hissing in pain to winking like the flirt he is, and Hilda rolls her eyes at him.

“Just promise to keep me in the loop!” Hilda practically sings as she stands up, giving Sylvain a wave as she turns and leaves.

Turning his eyes back to the book, Sylvain wonders how he could possibly find some more gossip that could top Ingrid and Dorothea. Turning over his options of who he could keep an eye on, Sylvain shoves the book deep into his bag. They don’t need their book of secrets to get out. Swinging the bag over his shoulder, Sylvain stands just as the bell for the next session of classes rings. Cursing, he sets off at a brisk walk to get to class.

* * *

Sylvain smirks as he strides up to Hilda, who has he back turned to him and chats with Claude in the courtyard. He clears his throat softly when he approaches, prompting Claude to shoot him a curious look and Hilda to turn around with a dark and tight expression. Both of them wait, giving Sylvain an opportunity to speak. He finally has some good information after a few days, and he’s eager to share as soon as he can.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt you two. Hilda, when you have a second I want to show you something.” Sylvain smiles as innocently as he can, but Hilda’s expression holds.

“Okay, but this isn’t a good time. I’ll find you later, okay?” She doesn’t wait for him to reply before she turns her back to him again.

Surprised, Sylvain nods even though she won’t see it. Wondering what could have Hilda so uptight, he makes his way back towards his room. He smiles and waves at familiar faces he passes, but he can’t shake his concern. He’s never seen Hilda look like that, and he can’t begin to imagine what caused it. He finally gets to his door at the end of the hall and heads inside, hoping Hilda will stick to what she said and find him. Now, it’s her turn to keep him in the loop.

* * *

It’s after dusk when Sylvain hears a knock on his door. He sets down his almost polished boots and the rag he was using to clean them, making it to his door in three long strides. He opens the door to Hilda, who walks right in wordlessly.

“Hello to you too,” Sylvain sighs, closing the door.

Hilda still doesn’t say anything, instead flopping to sit in Sylvain’s desk chair. She looks unusually messy, her hair frazzled and eyes slightly bloodshot. It looks like she may have been crying. Sylvain walks over and sits on his bed, unsure how to open the conversation. He taps his foot and chews on his lip, but the silence doesn’t last long.

“Sylvain, promise me what I say next doesn’t leave this room.” Hilda fixes Sylvain with the most dead serious stare he’s ever seen from her. It makes the hair stand up on his neck.

“Isn’t that always the case?” Sylvain tries a jab of humor.

“Sylvain.”

“Alright, I promise! I’ll keep whatever you have to say to myself.” Sylvain had scooted to the end of the bed, leaning over with his elbows on his knees.

“I think Edelgard is planning to leave Garreg Mach, and may or may not be planning to attack the Church if she does.” Hilda sighs and runs her fingers through her bangs, pushing them further up her forehead.

Sylvain can’t help his first reaction being a laugh. The sound echoes through the room, and Hilda gives Sylvain a very angry look. He tries to quiet himself down, his hand shaking where it covers his mouth. Once he finally quiets, his face falls into a somber expression.

“How can you be sure?” Sylvain asks, disbelieving.

“I’ve heard bits and pieces. Hubert isn’t as slick as he thinks he is, the way he sneaks food from the dining hall and stashes weapons from the training grounds. And I heard Ferdinand telling Petra yesterday that they’ve been increasingly distant from the rest of the Black Eagles. Not to mention Edelgard’s increasingly obvious animosity towards the Church. I just… Do you have a better theory?”

Sylvain shakes his head slowly. He meets Hilda’s eyes, processing what she said. Their little game of people watching has turned into something much darker. If what Hilda said is true, they need to say something. Shouldn’t this be an exception to the whole ‘keep it to themselves’ deal?

“Then we need to tell someone. This is serious.” Sylvain stands, intending to go to the door, but Hilda grabs his wrist to stop him.

“No, please! I could be wrong... And if you do, we might force their hand.” Hilda blurts.

Sylvain turns to argue with Hilda, but he’s cut off by banging on the wall.

“Keep it down in there! Some of us are trying to study!” Dimitri shouts.

While Sylvain is distracted, Hilda pushes past him to leave. He starts to follow her, but he can see from her body language that she wants to be left alone. In the new silence, Sylvain feels like he’s being crushed under the weight of Hilda’s words. With a heavy sigh, he lays down in his bed and stares at the roof. At some point, sleep overtakes him and the ordeal feels like nothing more than a strange dream the following day.

* * *

It’s a week later when Edelgard launches her attack. Everyone is in the dining hall when the warning bells toll, and all Sylvain and Hilda can do is look at each other from across the room. The guilt of their silence threatens to break them, but they press on into the battle with all they have. Edelgard’s forces overtake the monastery a few hours after they arrived, driving everyone else out. As Sylvain mounts his horse to run and Hilda climbs onto Claude’s wyvern, they share one last heavy look before being forced back to their homelands.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [Twitter!](https://mobile.twitter.com/el__ubert) ✨💕


End file.
